Why you really can't always believe what you read in the news…

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How good is your geographical knowledge? If you’re British, one company’s PR wants you to believe you know nothing about the wider world:

FOUR IN FIVE BRITONS COULDN’T POINT TO GERMANY ON A MAP, SAYS STUDY

Four in five Britons couldn’t point to Germany on a map, according to a new study.

More than half of Britons do not know Gibraltar is an Overseas British Territory and more than 70 per cent have never heard of Liechtenstein, the principality sandwiched between Austria and Switzerland.

Who are the company who want to stress the geographical ignorance of the British people?

The study, by voucher code site MoneySavingHeroes, polled more than 2,000 Brits on their geography knowledge…

“It has never been easier to travel the world or learn about it from the comfort of your own home thanks to technology advancements so it’s fascinating to know that so many Britons are still left scratching their heads when given a list of countries,” said George Charles, spokesperson for the site.

“You may not be able to afford to go travelling but everyone has the ability to learn through search engines or books.”

While there is doubtlessly some value to genuine researchers studying how different populations go about their sexual relations, it’s fair to say this isn’t that – this is PR-based market research to deliver an advert for a promotional voucher website:

The research, which was conducted by VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, was part of an ongoing study into Britons’s intimate lives.

Sometimes, Bad PR stories are almost too perfect in the way they encapsulate the problems in PR and in the media. Take, for instance, today’s story from the Daily Star, which appeared on page 8 of the print edition:

You can whistle

Wolf calls survey anger

Some women actually like being wolf-whistled, accoridng to a provocative survey on International Women’s Day.

One in 11 – or 2.4 million – said they took it as a compliment.

But campaigners on the women’s rights day blasted the research’s “poor timing”. Despite it being treated as a hate crime, 39% of women told the study they “actively encourage” cat-calling and “hope” they will be wolf-whistled at.

Astonishing, you might think, that the Daily Star would run a story that suggests that so many women actually enjoy being harassed on the street – and on International Women’s Day at that! But at least the Star had the good decency to ensure they published a story which ostensibly was at least critical of cat-calling, or of the survey, right?

Well, that’s the funny thing – the original press release didn’t condemn cat-calling at all, and played the street harassment angle for a bit of cheeky fun, highlighting how being wolf-whistled on the street actually makes women feel confident and desirable. I know it did, because I saw the original release:

1 in 11 British Women LIKE Being Cat-Called

New research has revealed that one in eleven British women like being cat-called, with 39% of these stating that they ‘actively encourage’ catcalls and ‘hope’ they will be catcalled when they leave the house. Furthermore, 15% of women admitted to finding unavailable men attractive.

According to new research, one in eleven British women actually like it when men cat-call them, with many confessing that they boost their confidence and that they leave the house hoping to encourage that kind of attention. Furthermore, 15% of women confess to being attracted to unavailable men, with the majority stating that it makes them feel ‘more desirable’.

There was no mention of International Women’s Day, at all (although there is surely no chance the story wasn’t timed to deliberately appear on that particular day). There was, however, a nicely prominent mention of the originators of this story:

The team at www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk conducted the research as part of an ongoing study into British attitudes towards each other. 2,488 British women aged 18 and over were quizzed about the way that they’re treated by others and vice versa, and what they look for in a potential suitor.

So where did the condemnation come into it, and where did the reference to International Women’s Day come from? All I can surmise is that the original story was so completely tone-deaf and exploitative in its overt brandwagoning that it was too sexist even for the Daily Star to publish in its original format.

If the Star get half marks for their effort, zero marks have to go to VoucherCodesPro, the market research company used to compile the data (I’m pretty sure there is only One polling company likely to have been behind this one), and to the PR company who worked up this story for them – 10 Yetis.

In it they pour through the day’s news to highlight examples of PR done very well, and PR that backfires, has a poor reception or comes from a less-than-positive place. As a marketing tool, I’m sure it does wonders for the ethical perception of their agency, that they talk about the ethics and effectiveness of work done in their industry.

I wonder if they have the ethical integrity to add their own cynical and counter-productive International Women’s Day brandwagoning effort to their Bad PR round up tomorrow? I won’t hold my breath.

Coming straight out of the classic ‘kids these days have it too easy’ file, the revelation that children get money for their lost teeth, and that given the nature of inflation, that monetary amount differs from the amount you received as a child, if the thoughts of a doubtlessly-suspect market research poll can be believed, which of course they can’t. A poll which was commissioned, incidentally, by online polling company and serial Bad PR players Voucher Codes Pro:

The team at www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk conducted the research as part of an ongoing study into Britons’ finances, with a particular focus on children’s pocket-money politics.

George Charles, spokesperson for www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, made the following comments:

‘It doesn’t seem fair that some get more from the Tooth Fairy than others, but ultimately if the child is happy with a visit from the Tooth Fairy then it doesn’t matter what is left behind in exchange for the teeth that have fallen out.

‘It’s interesting though that the majority of children go shopping for sweets following the loss of a tooth; probably not something that dentists would advise, but hey, they’re going to lose their baby teeth anyway.’

It’s not so much an insight into the rising cost of childhood tooth loss, as it is an advert for a company that makes money distributing online money-off vouchers and has no better way of marketing a product that is quite so intangible than to run dodgy PR surveys in the national news.

Those sneaky vegetarians! I knew it all along! Surely this story has to be true, and there can’t possibly be any other explanation for how a ‘finding’ like this could appear in two national newspapers, right?

The survey was conducted by money-saving website Voucher Codes Pro.

George Charles, founder of the website, said: “I know a few ‘vegetarians’ who sometimes crave meat, but it seems that a few are giving into their cravings when drunk.

“I think it’s important for friends of these ‘vegetarians’ to support them when drunk and urge them not to eat meat as I’m sure they regret it the next day.”

In fact, it’s just a case of a discount voucher website trying to do anything to get a mention in the paper, just to remind you they still exist.

Keeping up with the requirements of the obese generation is no easy task, with one in three children under the age of 10 apparently eating ‘junk food’ every day – totalling around £26 per child, per month. That’s a scary-sounding statistic, especially when you’re not forced to define precisely what counts as ‘junk food’. That said, we are offered a list of the most common junk foods for children:

Takeaway pizza was the junk food children were most likely to eat. This was followed by chocolate, which 26 per cent of parents said their children ate regularly, while 17 per cent of parents said their children consumed food from fast food chains most often.

The apparent disparity between junk food being consumed ‘daily’ while the most common foods are consumed only ‘regularly’ isn’t one that’s explored in any real detail, nor is it clarified where parents are finding daily takeaway pizza for an average of 85p per day. It’s as if the stats aren’t the real purpose of the story… Speaking of which, if you think this article appears in the news solely in order to raise awareness of the crisis of children’s diets, think again:

A fifth of parents admitted they regularly lie to others about how much pizza, chocolate and crisps their children are eating to avoid being judged by their peers or seen as ‘cheap’.

The survey, by discount website www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, analysed the shopping habits of 1,426 parents who had at least one child aged 10 or under. This revealed that the average spend per child was £26 every month.

George Charles, of VoucherCodesPro, said: ‘Parents may be lying about how much junk food they feed their kids because they’re worried about looking ‘cheap’ but that couldn’t be further from the truth.’

So, not only is it terrible that kids eat so much junk, but it’s also expensive, despite how ‘cheap’ it might seem. Fortunately, of course, there are great deals and savings to be had by visiting VoucherCodesPro, the discount website who paid for this story to appear as news. Let’s hope they didn’t spend too much on it.

There we have it, ladies – if it’s a man you’re after, you’d best wear red. Similarly, if you’re looking to bag yourself a bull, wearing red works for that too. Wear too much red and, presumably, you’re in danger of dating a minotaur.

Still, while there’s nothing groundbreaking in the revelation that women look attractive when dressed in red, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a company behind the article looking to cash in on a well-worn stereotype:

‘Whilst it may well be considered fickle to base the odds of a second date with someone on the colour they choose to wear upon an initial meeting, the fact is that we make our primary assessments of potential partners extremely quickly,’ said George Charles of vouchercodespro.co.uk, who commissioned the research.

To the everyday reader, it’s hard to sell this as a downside – take up smoking, and you’ll get an extra annual week off work. Sounds like a sweet deal. Who’s selling it?

Over a year this amounts to smokers working seven fewer days than their colleagues who do not smoke, according to a study for Voucher Codes Pro.

Given that Voucher Codes Pro don’t offer vouchers for discount on cigarettes, it’s not immediately apparent what the angle here is – especially when Voucher Codes Pro offer deals on e-cigarettes, aimed at getting people to quit smoking and lose their annual extra work-free week. Yet, within a few paragraphs, the angle appears:

George Charles, marketing director of Voucher Codes Pro, said employers might think twice about hiring smokers due to the amount of time they spend not working.

‘The subject of employing smokers is an undoubtedly controversial one, but clearly one that needs to be highlighted looking at the results of our study,’ he said.

‘Whilst it could be argued that there are many different reasons as to why employees may need to take time out of work, it is not surprising that many employers would be wary of hiring smokers if they are going to be using more than 170 hours a year feeding their habit.’

And there it is – potential employers might (illegally) take your smoking habits into account when choosing to offer you a job, so maybe you should visit George’s voucher website to kick your filthy habit before you’re entirely unemployable.

Breaking science and technology news! The following articles appeared in the Science and Technology sections of the Telegraph and Daily Mail recently:

Britons spend 86 hours a year ‘stranger stalking’ on social media

The average Briton will spend a total of 14 minutes each day, or 86 hours in a year, looking at strangers’ social media profiles, according to new research.

The study into online behaviour, conducted by money saving website www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, polled a total of 2,704 UK adults (1,336 females and 1,368 males) aged 18 and over on their specific social media habits while online.

We’re a nation of stalkers: Britons spend three DAYS a year tracking people they don’t know online – with 14% setting up fake profiles to check up on people

Have you ever looked at photos of your partner’s ex, or stalked their work colleagues on Facebook or Twitter? According to new research more than 80 per cent of us do this on a daily basis.

The study, carried out by VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, found the average Briton spends a total of 3.5 days a year looking at the profiles of strangers, a practice dubbed ‘stranger stalking.’

Men were found to most likely look at random profiles of people they find attractive, whilst women were more likely to check on potential new partners of their exes – and 14 per cent of Brits admitted to setting up fake profiles to check up on people anonymously.

You’ll have noticed who provided this highly-technological and scientific research – voucher website ‘VocherCodesPro. So, rather than this being a piece of useful research, it’s merely a reminder that some websites exist to help users save money.

As for the troubling finding that broad swathes of the population routinely stalk strangers on social media, it may or may not be true – the ‘research’ doesn’t really care either way.

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